The Los Angeles Rams were treated to a display on Saturday, as rookie quarterback Ty Simpson linked up with his teammates repeatedly to put away the Kansas City Chiefs in their preseason contest.
With a 21-for-25 passing performance for 190 yards and two touchdowns, Simpson was excellent, ensuring he did not commit a turnover in three quarters of action. For his efforts, Sports Illustrated's Mike Kadlick named Simpson's performance as the second-best by any rookie quarterback over the weekend.
Coach Sean McVay made life easy for TY Simpson in his NFL debut, giving him several half-field reads on bootlegs while also building in some easy checkdown options—as evidenced by rookie tight end Max Klare’s seven(!) catches for just 37 yards. Still, Simpson was able to complete 84% of his throws while finding the end zone twice, with both touchdown passes going to running back Dean Connors.
Was Simpson’s play enough to take the starting job away from Matthew Stafford? Of course not. But perhaps it eased some of the angst McVay appeared to have when Los Angeles drafted him, even if the coach denies that was the case.
Simpson was runner-up to Drew Allar, who had a phenomenal debut for the Pittsburgh Steelers, tossing two touchdowns and rushing for another. Simpson also edged out fellow first-round quarterback Fernando Mendoza, who finished third.
Simpson will have another chance to display his passing prowess this week against New Orleans.
This article originally appeared on Rams Wire: NFL analyst ranks Ty Simpson as 2nd-best rookie QB from Week 1 of preseason